Supported Housing
Equipping residents with the skills and confidence needed for independent living
About
Our Supported Housing project is an initiative developed in conjunction with the London Borough of Newham and One-Housing Group to provide accommodation and life skills support for single homeless people over the age of 18.
Everyone that this project supports has experienced rough sleeping, but this can often also be alongside employment issues, mental health issues, domestic abuse, addiction, mild learning disabilities and people coming out of the criminal justice or care system.
We currently have two Supported Housing buildings, one for adults aged 18-25 and the other for adults 25 and over. Both buildings are based in Newham.
We support people to gain the professional services they need alongside day-to-day living skills via a programme of activities; we work with residents in addressing all aspects of their life from financial management, education, training, back-to-work preparation to teaching them how to cook for themselves, prioritising their health and wellbeing, relationship building and recreational activities.
The project’s mission is to equip residents with the skills and confidence needed for independent living. We work with each individual, supporting them to grow in confidence and self-belief, enabling them to transform their life.
History
Since the Renewal Programme was founded in 1971, it has worked within community development, standing alongside individuals and groups are marginalised; our aim is to empower them by various means to take their place in society.
Our Supported Housing project is an initiative developed in conjunction with the London Borough of Newham and One-Housing Group to provide accommodation and life skills support for single homeless people over the age of 18.
The need for this initiative derived from the Renewal Programme’s Turnaround Aram House Night Shelter. Turnaround has provided night-shelter accommodation since November 1992, when several Newham churches pulled together to meet the needs of local homeless people by providing them with a meal, a bed and a warm, safe environment.
During the cold winter months, each church provided shelter for 30 people each night.
This was the first London shelter to begin using this model and since that time, church-based groups in seven other London boroughs and towns have set up their own shelter using the same model.
The Renewal Programme has, over the years, since expanded the Supported Housing project across two buildings, both located in Newham, better meeting the borough’s aim of reducing street homelessness.
The project
At present, we have 42 residents part of our Supported Housing project, split over two buildings.
One building provides accommodation for 11 young people, aged under 25, with low levels of support needs, whilst our other building provides accommodation for 31 homeless people, who may also suffer from addiction, mental health issues, employment problems or mild learning disabilities. This building is also suitable those facing homelessness after coming out of the criminal justice or care system.
The project consists of a mixture of two-bed flats, which form an assessment unit, and several self-contained flats, which form an independence unit. You can read more about the services we provide here.
